Tossing up a ton o’fun at the Scottish Games

Savannah celebrates a Scottish presence going back to Oglethorpe

The Scottish Games feature a mix of athletic competition, music, dance, and other activities celebrating Scottish heritage.

THIS Saturday, Bethesda Academy will host the 42nd edition of the popular Savannah Scottish Games.

The juxtaposition of Spanish moss and Scottish heritage isn’t as odd as it may sound at first.

The St. Andrew’s Society — named for the patron saint of Scotland, a patron also shared by Greece and Russia — formed a Savannah chapter in 1737, a scant four years after Gen. James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia here.

“Savannah has one of the oldest Scottish games in the country,” says Stewart Marshall, a well-known local musician who also serves as current president of the St. Andrew’s Society of Savannah, which sponsors the Games.

“They came over with Oglethorpe on his second trip over, specifically to settle soldiers to help ward off the Spanish in southern Georgia,” says Marshall.

“And many of them soon became important merchants and figures in local government. They were all here to forge a new life.”

The Scottish Games focus mostly on tests of strength.

“Back in the old days the Scots would prepare themselves for battle by hosting games. These are real athletes doing the caber toss and the sheaf toss,” Marshall says.

The Savannah Scottish Games are on a circuit of similar events, with contestants vying for prizes.

“It’s really a competition. People come from all over the world to compete,” Marshall says. “These folks are all burly! Say what you will about wearing a kilt, but these people mean business.”

On the “lighter side,” Marshall says there are also Highland dancing competitions, pipe bands, and of course the always popular border collie athletic exhibitions.